"Good, you're still wearing the hat," Liam tapped the brim lightly before handing Brenda the plastic bag with their refreshments. "I don't want water. I want a cape," Eden turned up her nose at the bottle of sparkling water he'd opened for her. But no matter how long she stood there, with her arms crossed, refusing to budge until he got her a cape, Liam wouldn't. Instead, he made her take photos of him and Aiden, and a few included Brenda and his security team. Feeling left out, Eden asked at last, "What about one with me?" "Don't worry; we'll photoshop you in," Liam smirked. But James was happy to do the honours. He took tons of photos of the three of them. Most were fun and silly, but there were a few serious ones worthy of family portraits that Eden wanted to print and frame. "Where's our first stop?" Brenda asked as she took Aiden and placed him in the stroller. Liam checked the time and confirmed the dolphin show was about

Aiden was out like a light even before they left the dispensary, but Liam refused to put him in his car seat, insisting on holding him for the entire ride home. "You know he'll be okay, right?" Eden assured him for the millionth time. Liam nodded just as many times. "I know. I just want to hold him and never let him go. And when we get home, I want to hold you, too." "That sounds nice," Eden sighed dreamily and rested her head on his shoulder. "I can do with some holding right now. I was so afraid." "Me too," he admitted. "I don't think I've ever been so terrified in my life, and from now on, I don't want anyone near Aiden. I'm getting him a sterilised bubble like the one from that Bubble Boy movie." Eden chuckled. "He can't live in a bubble. He needs human contact." "Either that or I die before I'm thirty. You choose, Princess.""That's an unfair choice," she mumbled through her very loud yawn. "Guess it's settled then.

After their shower, Liam stopped by the nursery to check on Aiden. As usual, his son had kicked off his blanket, but his plushy was still firmly at his side, his tiny hand wrapped around the toy's arm. He leaned over the crib and kissed him on the forehead, and Aiden opened his eyes and smiled so briefly. "Dad?" He sighed sleepily. "Yes, baby," Liam smiled back as he covered him up with his blanket. "Nemo sleeping?" Aiden mumbled before he closed his eyes again, and he was out like a light. "Yes, he is. And you should, too. Sleep tight, Kool-Aid," he murmured as he kissed him again and dimmed the light before he left the nursery, a regretful look in his eyes. He's barely spent time with his son, and the next few weeks weren't going to be easy either once he got entangled with the Ivanovs. But he didn't want to be that guy, the one who never had time for his kid, and for that not to happen, a lot would have to change, starting with his

Eden was in a meeting with the marketing and brand teams for a large part of her morning, going over the event lineup for the family fun day where Lydia would make her big debut as the company's brand ambassador. By the time Sarah, the head of marketing, announced a second tea break, Eden's head was swimming with market analysis data—all the boring stuff she had no interest in and would never have known existed if Liam hadn't thrown her in the spotlight and put her in charge of Lydia's account. She was so drained she could barely move from her chair, so she closed her eyes, hoping to catch a nap while everyone was on a body break. She was still trying to convince her brain to shut down when Clara came in with a tray of something awful in her hands. Whatever it was, Eden didn't think it tasted as horrible as it smelled. But heavens, the smell—no—the stench was too much for her. "What is that?" She gagged and wrinkled her nose, surprising the few pe

6:00 PM. That was the time they were supposed to meet. Liam was there at 4:30 PM, though. Not because he was eager to strike a deal with the devil, but James and his guys wanted to scope out the place for possible threats. Ordinarily, entering the venue after hours would have been a hassle, but as a former motorsport driver, his lifetime pass allowed Liam 24/7 access, and within minutes they were in the VIP lounge. He slipped off his messenger bag, took off his coat and placed both on the coffee table. "Do you need anything, Sir?" James asked as he scanned the room.Most of the general workers had already gone home, and other than the bartender and a few waitstaff, the place was empty. No surprises there. Liam figured if Aleksei planned to off him, he wanted no witnesses. "I'm good, thanks, James," he murmured as he sank into the club chair and pulled out his laptop from the bag to get some work done. By 4:55 PM, his hea